| << Go Back |
 |
Zhao Chen PhD, MPH
Professor, Division Director, Epi/Biostats
1295 N. Martin A238
Campus POB: 245211
Tucson, AZ 85724
(520) 626-9011
zchen@u.arizona.edu
|
Research Interests:
Ethnicity; Body Composition; Bone Density and Breast Cancer; Nationwide study for women addressing heart disease; cancer; and osteoporosis; Relationship between Mammographic Density and IGF levels
|
|
Healthy Aging Website: http://publichealth.arizona.edu//healthyaging/
Education:
1996, PhD, Physical Anthropology, University of Arizona
1995, MPH, Public Health Nutrition, University of Arizona
1985, MS, Physical Anthropology, Academic Sinica, Beijing China
1983, BS, Biology, Beijing Normal University
|
Publications:
Caire-JuveraG, ArendellLA, MaskarinecG, ThomsonCA, Chen Z. Association between breast density and body composition components in Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women by menopausal status. Menopause 2008; 15(2):319-25. [PubmedID:18090034]
Chen Z, Arendell L, Aickin M, Cauley J, Lewis CE, Chlebowski R. Hip Bone Density Predicts Breast Cancer Risk Independently of Gail Score --- Results from the Women’s Health Initiative. Cancer 2008; 113 (5): 907-915 (published with editorial). [PubmedID:18666209]
Wright NC; Riggs GK; Lisse JR; Chen Z. Self-Reported Osteoarthritis, Ethnicity, BMI and other Associated Risk Factors in Postmenopausal Women---Results from the Women’s Health Initiative. J Am Geriatr Soc 2008; 56: 1736-1743. [PubmedID:18662212]
Cauley, J. A., Wampler, N. S., Barnhart, J. M., Wu, L., Allison, M., Chen, Z., Hendrix, S., Robbins, J., and Jackson, R. D. Incidence of fractures compared to cardiovascular disease and breast cancer: the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study. Osteoporos Int, 19: 1717-23, 2008. [PubmedID:18629572]
Chen, Z., Maricic, M., Aragaki, A. K., Mouton, C., Arendell, L., Lopez, A. M., Bassford, T., and Chlebowski, R. T. Fracture risk increases after diagnosis of breast or other cancers in postmenopausal women: results from the Women's Health Initiative. Osteoporos Int, 2008. [PubmedID:18766294]
Chen Z, Beck TJ, Cauley JA, Lewis CE, LaCroix A, Bassford T, Wu G, Sherrill D, Going S. Hormone Therapy Improves Femur Geometry Among Ethnically Diverse Postmenopausal Participants in the Women’s Health Initiative Hormone Intervention Trials. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 2008 23:1935-1945. [PubmedID:18665788]
Caire-JuveraG, Ritenbaugh C, Wactawski-Wende J, Snetselaar L, Chen Z. Vitamin A intake and the risk of fractures among participants of the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2009; 89:323-30. [PubmedID:19056568]
Budhiraja P, Chen Z, Popovtzer M. Sodium bicarbonate versus normal saline for protection against contrast nephropathy. Renal Failure (Accepted for publication in Nov 4th of 2008 and to be published in 2009; 31(2)).
Beck TJ, Petit M, Wu G; LeBoff MS, Cauley JA, Chen Z. Does obesity really make the femur stronger? Bone Mineral Density, Geometry and Fracture Incidence in the Women's Health Initiative-Observational Study. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research (JBMR MS# J0808520R2. Accepted for publication December 2008)
|
| Languages Spoken: Chinese and English |
|
Biography:
For more than 10 years, Zhao Chen, PhD, MPH, has been focused on epidemiologic research of women’s health and aging-related health conditions. She has a wealth of experience in studying body composition assessments, breast cancer risk factors, fracture risk in cancer survivors, osteoporosis prevention, and sarcopenia measurements among women and elderly from different ethnic backgrounds. As a member of the Arizona Cancer Center, Arizona Geriatric Education Center, and Arizona Arthritis Center, she has collaborated with a large number of colleagues on a variety of projects. She is a funded researcher by the National Health Institute (NIH), and has served on numerous scientific study sections for the NIH and other funding agencies nationally and internationally.
Her work with the U.S. Women’s Health Initiative study has produced several significant research papers on epidemiologic methodology and osteoporosis risk factors in diverse populations. Her findings on increased fracture risk among breast cancer survivors have caught wide public attention, thus making a significant contribution to the prevention of fractures in the large number of breast cancer survivors. Her research on mammographic density as a proxy of breast cancer risk has provided direct evidences on significant associations between body composition, dietary intake, and mammographic density. Currently, she is leading a NIH funded research investigating longitudinal changes in bone strength and skeletal muscle loss associated with aging and hormone and calcium/vitamin D interventions. She is also receiving NIH funding to study anemia and its relationship with muscle loss, physical function, and mortality in Mexican American, Africa American, Native American, Asian, and Non-Hispanic white postmenopausal women.
In addition to research in minority populations, she has been actively training students, especially minority students from underserved populations. Under her direction, graduate students in her laboratory are conducting research in many aspects of women’s health and aging. Some examples of the research areas include arthritis and osteoporosis in women, physical functional assessments in the elderly, and relationship of growth factors with breast cancer risk. With the growing elderly population in the United States, osteoporosis and sarcopenia have become more significant public health problems. Her major interest is to build a strong research program on bone and muscle health to contribute to healthy aging in people from all ethnic backgrounds. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in biology from Beijing Normal University and a master’s degree in biological anthropology from Academic Sinica, she came to the University of Arizona to purse a doctoral degree in biological anthropology. Upon taking a number of nutritional and public health courses, she became extremely interested in public health and epidemiology. As a result she received both a doctoral degree in anthropology and a master’s degree of public health in nutrition from the University of Arizona. With the support of a NIH career development award, she continued her postdoctoral training in epidemiology and took a number of courses from The New England Epidemiology Institute Summer Program and the Graduate Summer Institute of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. She became a faculty member at the University of Arizona in 1997 and has served as the director of the epidemiology concentration and the chair of the master of public health program at The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.
|
|